Precious [and of great consequence] in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones [so He watches over them]. Ps. 116.15 AMP
Thus, God tells us Himself that He watches over us. Let’s see how he does that…
Abraham’s second son was Isaac. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob disguised himself to fool Isaac, who was almost blind and on his death bed, into passing the family blessing upon him, instead of Esau, the heir apparent. Enraged, Esau sought to kill his brother. So, Jacob hightails it to his uncle’s house to hide.
During Jacob’s journey, he camps for a night; and in the course of that time, God sends him a vision:
Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD your God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as dust of the earth…and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Gn. 28:12 – 14. NKJV
We see then, that God, the Promise-Keeper, transfers His covenant promise from Isaac onto Jacob. The second thing to see, is the presence of angels in both heaven and upon the earth.
God watches over you in many ways. Looking to the lead-in scripture at the top of this post, we see that God Himself watches over you. Jehovah also watches over you through His Son:
“The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me is greater and mightier than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are One [in essence and nature].” Jn. 10:27 – 30. AMP
Our Father also brings us closer to Him through the Holy Spirit:
“…the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor – Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you. Jn. 14:25, 26. AMP
Finally, God watches over you by enlisting and sending His angels. ‘Angel’ is translated from the Hebrew malak, which means ‘deputy,’ ‘messenger,’ or ‘ambassador’ of God.
Our first exposure to an angel was with one who had gone bad – the devil himself, the consummate liar, thief, murderer, and destroyer (Gn. 3:1 – 5).
Second, we encounter angels, (cherubim), whom God placed at the gates of Eden after Adam and Eve were cast out. The angels were to keep any sinners from having access to the Tree of Life within the garden, to prevent them from having a life of eternal damnation. Thus, those angels’ job was to protect humankind from itself (Gn. 3:24).
The third encounter was with the two angels sent to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy the cities for their unrepentant depravity, (acting out God’s judgment), after they saved Lot and his family from being destroyed along with the other inhabitants (Gn. 19:1 – 25.). See also my previous blogpost https://godcherishesyou.com/the-past-sure-is-tense/
The fourth appearance was of an angel whom God sent to Hagar, Abraham’s wife’s handmaiden, and mother of his first child, Ishmael. The angel was sent to comfort and encourage her, bringing her a prophetic message regarding the future success of her son (Gn. 21:8 – 18.).
And now, we come to Jacob’s vision of angels freely traveling to and fro, between heaven and earth. Thus, we see that angels are sent to watch over us for God, showing us His love in a variety of ways. Before we examine them, let us look at how angels fit within God’s creative hierarchy:
What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that you care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. Ps. 8:4, 5. AMP
The hierarchy is this: God is number One – Creator and Ruler of the Universe, extremely closely followed by and reflected in Christ and the Holy Spirit. Then come the archangels, and then the angels. Finally comes humankind. However, Jesus tells us that the relationship between the children of God and the angels will change when we enter eternity:
“…those who are considered worthy to gain that [other world and that future] age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; and they cannot die again, because they are [immortal] like the angels (equal to, angel-like). Lk. 20:35, 36. AMP
Angels may appear in a mighty grandeur (Rv. 10:1), or, they may hide among us, taking on human form:
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Heb. 13:2 NASB
Now, let us look at why God sends angels your way. The first reason is to guide you on the path that He has prepared for you:
Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I prepared. Ex. 23:20 NASB
All believers are traveling their own exodus on this earth. From His grace, God does not just send us one angel to help us on that trek:
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Ps. 91:11 ESV
Keep in mind however, having God watch over you, your heavenly protection, is contingent upon you having reverence and love in your heart for God:
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience], and He rescues [each of] them. Ps. 34:7 AMP
The second reason God places angels around you is to strengthen you in your spiritual battles, just like He did for Jesus:
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Mt. 4:11 NKJV
Jehovah also dispatches angels to prophesy about the future:
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” Lk. 2:10 NKJV
Finally, God sends His angels to declare the gospel:
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth… Rv. 14:6 ESV
Here’s the big picture of how God watches over you with His angels: Jehovah surrounds you with angels to inform you of what He wants both for you and from you, to guide you in how to act out His will, to comfort you, to protect you, to fortify you and to show you how to position yourself to be able to receive His blessings.
What Jacob understood in his vision was that God sends His love to us in every moment – delivered by the angels on earth, who then return to heaven to report the outcome.
Add God Himself, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, along with the angels, and you can see how our Creator brings heaven and earth to bear, to watch over you. Why would He go to such lengths to watch over you? You know. Because God cherishes you…
Goodnight and God bless.